Hezbollah accuses Israel of violating the ceasefire

A day after the ceasefire with the Hezbollah militia took effect in Lebanon, the Lebanese army accused Israel of repeated violations of the agreement. Israel violated the ceasefire “several times” on Wednesday and Thursday, it said. There was talk of “air violations” and attacks on Lebanese territory with “various weapons”. The army command is investigating these violations in consultation with the “relevant authorities”. The army did not provide any further details.

The Israeli army said it carried out an airstrike on a pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia facility in the south of the country on Thursday. She “identified” a terrorist activity at a Hezbollah facility storing medium-range missiles and “thwarted” it with a military aircraft. The Israeli army announced that the army would remain in southern Lebanon to enforce the ceasefire.

The Israeli military also announced a new nighttime curfew for southern Lebanon. It is “strictly forbidden” to move south of the Litani River between 5:00 p.m. on Thursday and 7:00 a.m. on Friday (local time, 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. CET), army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on the X online service. Similar restrictions had already applied on Thursday night.

The ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah militia, brokered by the USA and France, came into force early on Wednesday morning. As a result, tens of thousands of Lebanese displaced by the conflict made their way to their hometowns in the south and east of the country as well as to the southern suburbs of Beirut, which had been repeatedly attacked by the Israeli army in recent months because there were strongholds there of Hezbollah.

The ceasefire stipulates that Israeli troops will gradually leave southern Lebanon within 60 days. Hezbollah should also withdraw from the border area beyond the Litani River.